Business Tools

Hawaii LLC Operating Agreement Template

Not required by statute: members 'may' enter into an operating agreement, and chapter 428 governs any matter the agreement does not cover (HRS § 428-103(a)). Fill in the form to build a Hawaii operating agreement for a single-member or multi-member LLC, governed by the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. Download it as PDF or Word and keep the signed copy with the company records; it is not filed with the state.

This template is a starting point, not legal advice, and Jupid is not a law firm. LLC law differs by state, and Hawaii courts apply Hawaii law. Have an attorney licensed in your state review the agreement before every member signs, especially if members contribute property, receive unequal rights, or plan to bring in investors.

Your LLC

Company

Governed by the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. Not required by statute, but strongly recommended. Hawaii rules

Owners

Member

Management

Match what your Articles of Organization says, if it states the management structure.

Taxes

Succession

Lets the LLC continue without a gap in ownership. Coordinate with your will or trust.

Live preview: 11 articles

Operating Agreement of Blue Harbor Studio LLC

A Hawaii single-member, member-managed limited liability company

This Operating Agreement (this "Agreement") of Blue Harbor Studio LLC (the "Company") is made effective as of March 2, 2026 (the "Effective Date") by its sole member listed in Schedule A (the "Member").

Article 1. Formation

1.1 Formation. Blue Harbor Studio LLC (the "Company") was formed as a Hawaii limited liability company on March 2, 2026 by filing its Articles of Organization with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division. The Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (the "Act") and this Agreement govern the Company. Where this Agreement differs from a default rule of the Act, this Agreement controls to the extent the Act allows.

1.2 Purpose. The purpose of the Company is graphic design, branding and marketing services, and any other lawful business for which a limited liability company may be formed under the Act.

1.3 Principal Office. The Company's principal office is at 1200 Main Street, Suite 300, Honolulu, HI, or at another place the Member chooses.

1.4 Registered Agent. The Company's registered agent and registered office in Hawaii are those stated in its most recent filing with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division.

1.5 Term. The Company continues until it is dissolved and its affairs are wound up under Article 10.

Article 2. Sole Member and Capital

2.1 Sole Member. Alex Rivera (the "Member") is the sole member of the Company and owns 100% of the membership interests. The Member's address and Capital Contribution are listed in Schedule A.

2.2 Capital Contribution. The Member has contributed or will contribute the money, property or services stated in Schedule A. The Member is not required to make any additional contribution but may do so at any time.

2.3 No Interest on Capital. The Member earns no interest on its Capital Contributions. A loan from the Member to the Company is not a Capital Contribution.

Article 3. Allocations and Distributions

3.1 Profits and Losses. All profits and losses of the Company are allocated to the Member.

3.2 Distributions. The Member decides when the Company makes distributions and in what amounts.

3.3 Limits on Distributions. The Company will not make a distribution if, after the distribution, the Company could not pay its debts as they become due in the ordinary course of business, its total liabilities would exceed its total assets, or the distribution would otherwise violate the Act.

Article 4. Tax Classification

4.1 Classification. The Company has one Member. Under Treasury Regulations Section 301.7701-3(b)(1)(ii), it is disregarded as an entity separate from its owner for federal income tax purposes unless the Member elects otherwise by filing IRS Form 8832 or Form 2553. Being disregarded for income tax purposes does not change the Company's separate legal existence or the Member's limited liability under the Act.

Article 5. Management

5.1 Management by the Member. The Company is member-managed. The Member has full authority to run the business, sign contracts, open accounts and take any other action for the Company. The Member may act by signing a written consent and is not required to hold meetings.

5.2 Officers and Agents. The Member may appoint officers or agents, give them titles and delegate authority to them in writing.

Article 6. Transfers and Additional Members

6.1 Transfers. The Member may transfer all or part of its membership interest. A person who receives the Member's entire interest is admitted as a member when the transfer takes effect.

6.2 Additional Members. The Member may admit additional members by written consent. When a second member is admitted, the members will sign an amended operating agreement that covers voting, distributions and transfers. Once the Company has two or more members, it is classified as a partnership for federal income tax purposes unless it has elected to be taxed as a corporation.

Article 7. Death or Incapacity of the Member

7.1 Successor on Death. On the Member's death, the person who inherits the Member's interest under the Member's will or trust or under the laws of intestacy succeeds to the Member's entire interest and is admitted as the member effective as of the date of death, so that the Company continues without dissolution. Until the successor is admitted, the Member's personal representative may exercise all of the Member's rights to manage the Company.

7.2 Incapacity. If the Member becomes unable to manage the Company because of a physical or mental condition, the Member's agent under a durable power of attorney, or a court-appointed guardian or conservator, may exercise the Member's management rights until the Member can act again.

Article 8. Books, Records, Bank Accounts and Separateness

8.1 Books and Fiscal Year. The Company keeps complete and accurate books of account. Its fiscal year is the calendar year unless tax law requires otherwise, and its books are kept on the cash or accrual method the Member chooses for its tax returns.

8.2 Records. The Company keeps at its principal office the records the Act requires, including a copy of its Articles of Organization and all amendments, this Agreement and all amendments, a current list of its Member with addresses, Capital Contributions, and its federal, state and local tax returns and financial statements for at least the three most recent years.

8.3 Bank Accounts. All Company money is deposited in accounts in the Company's name and used only for Company purposes. Company funds are never mixed with the personal funds of the Member. The Member, and anyone they authorize in writing, may sign on Company accounts.

8.4 Separate Existence. The Company holds itself out as a legal entity separate from the Member. It signs contracts in its own name, pays its debts from its own funds, keeps its own books and accounts, and does not pay the personal expenses of the Member. These practices help preserve the limited liability the Act gives to the Member.

Article 9. Limited Liability, Exculpation and Indemnification

9.1 Limited Liability. To the fullest extent the Act allows, no Member or officer is personally liable for any debt, obligation or liability of the Company, whether arising in contract, tort or otherwise, solely because of that role. A failure of the Company to observe formalities is not a ground for imposing personal liability on the Member.

9.2 Exculpation. No Member or officer is liable to the Company for any act or omission in good faith on behalf of the Company, except for gross negligence, willful misconduct, a knowing violation of law, a transaction from which the person received an improper personal benefit, or a breach of this Agreement.

9.3 Indemnification. To the fullest extent the Act allows, the Company will indemnify and hold harmless the Member and each officer against losses, judgments, settlements and reasonable legal fees arising from claims related to the Company's business, except for conduct listed as an exception in Section 9.2. The Company may advance legal fees if the person agrees in writing to repay them if it is later determined that the person was not entitled to indemnification.

9.4 Insurance. The Company may buy insurance on behalf of any person it may indemnify.

Article 10. Dissolution and Winding Up

10.1 Events of Dissolution. The Company dissolves only on:

  1. the Member's written decision to dissolve;
  2. the sale of all or substantially all of its assets, after the sale proceeds are collected;
  3. the Company having no member, if no successor is admitted under Article 7 and the Company is not otherwise continued as the Act permits;
  4. entry of a court order of dissolution; or
  5. any other event that requires dissolution under the Act.

10.2 Winding Up. On dissolution, the Member will wind up the Company's affairs, sell or distribute its assets, and file the dissolution or cancellation documents the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division requires.

10.3 Order of Payment. Company assets are applied in this order: first, to creditors, including the Member if it is a creditor, in satisfaction of the Company's debts; second, to reasonable reserves for contingent liabilities; and third, to the Member.

Article 11. General Provisions

11.1 Governing Law. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Hawaii, including the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 428-101 et seq.).

11.2 Entire Agreement. This Agreement, including its schedules, is the entire agreement of the Member about the Company and replaces any earlier oral or written agreement on the same subject.

11.3 Amendments. This Agreement may be amended only by a writing signed by the Member.

11.4 Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, the rest of the Agreement stays in effect, and the provision is enforced to the greatest extent allowed.

11.5 Binding Effect; No Third-Party Beneficiaries. This Agreement binds and benefits the Member and its permitted successors and assigns. No creditor or other third party may enforce it.

Signatures

The Member signs this Agreement effective as of the Effective Date.

Member: Alex Rivera

Date: ________________

Schedule A: Member

MemberAddressCapital contributionPercentage interest
Alex Rivera48 Oak Lane, Honolulu, HI$5,000 (Cash)100%
Total$5,000100%

Template from jupid.com. Not legal advice; Hawaii law varies, so have an attorney review this document before signing.

Everything stays in your browser. A draft is saved on this device so you can come back to it.

Need to form the LLC first?

Jupid's AI agent prepares and files your formation paperwork. You pay only the Hawaii filing fee, and Jupid keeps the books and taxes on track after filing.

Start your LLC

Hawaii Operating Agreement Facts

LLC statute

Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 428-101 et seq.)

Required?

Not required by statute: members 'may' enter into an operating agreement, and chapter 428 governs any matter the agreement does not cover (HRS § 428-103(a)).

Filed with the state?

No. You file the Articles of Organization with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division; the operating agreement stays with the company records.

What the statute calls it

operating agreement

Records rule

No statutory duty to keep a copy at an office; a member may demand, at the company's expense, a copy of any operating agreement in record form (HRS § 428-408(c)).

Annual or biennial report

Annual Report, $15, due by the end of the calendar quarter in which the LLC registered (March 31, June 30, September 30 or December 31); none due in the year of formation (HRS § 428-210(d)).

Series LLCs

Not authorized (no series provision in HRS chapter 428)

Community property state

No.

Hawaii's operating agreement rules under HRS chapter 428

Hawaii LLCs are governed by the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, HRS chapter 428, which uses the term operating agreement. No statute requires one. Under HRS § 428-103(a), all the members may enter into an operating agreement to regulate the company's affairs, and chapter 428 governs any relation among members, managers and the company that the agreement does not address. Chapter 428 does not say whether the agreement must be written, but HRS § 428-408(c) lets a member demand, at the company's expense, a copy of any operating agreement kept in record form.

The agreement is not filed with the state. The Business Registration Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) explains that an LLC is created by filing Articles of Organization and that its internal workings are governed by an operating agreement. Some terms cannot be changed by agreement: HRS § 428-103(b) bars an operating agreement from unreasonably restricting information rights, eliminating the duty of loyalty, or eliminating the obligation of good faith and fair dealing.

What chapter 428 fills in when the agreement is silent

An LLC is member-managed unless its articles of organization designate it as manager-managed (HRS § 428-101). Each member has equal management rights, and ordinary business matters may be decided by a majority of the members (HRS § 428-404(a)). Section 428-404(c) lists the matters that need the consent of every member, including amending the operating agreement or articles, admitting a new member, making interim distributions, and selling all or substantially all company property.

Distributions made before dissolution must be in equal shares (HRS § 428-405(a)), whatever each member contributed. A member can dissociate at any time by express will (HRS § 428-602(a)). In an at-will company the LLC must then buy the dissociated member's distributional interest at fair value (HRS §§ 428-603(a)(1) and 428-701), and if no purchase agreement is reached within 120 days the member can ask a court to set the price. Someone who receives a transferred interest without being admitted as a member gets distributions only, with no say in management (HRS § 428-503).

Hawaii items to settle in writing

Members who want distributions tied to ownership percentages, or a set buyout price for a departing member, need to say so in the agreement. HRS § 428-701(c) gives effect to a purchase price and terms fixed by the operating agreement. Chapter 428 contains no series LLC provisions.

Every Hawaii LLC files an annual report with DCCA (HRS § 428-210). The due date depends on when the LLC registered: by March 31, June 30, September 30 or December 31 for registrations in the first, second, third or fourth quarter, and no report is due in the year the LLC is formed. The filing fee on the DCCA fee schedule is $15. The report states whether the company is manager-managed and lists managers or members by name and address, so changes made under the operating agreement should match it. Check the current statute before relying on a default rule.

Frequently Asked Questions

Keep the LLC's Money Separate From Day One

Jupid connects to your LLC's bank account, categorizes every transaction, keeps the books ready for tax time, and answers your tax questions in WhatsApp or iMessage.